November 2007

November 29, 2007

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported some unusual news Thursday. For once Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the cause of slumping merchandise sales rather than gains. NASCAR's souvenir merchants are hoping sales of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new No. 88 merchandise will help them recover from a disappointing 2007 selling season.According to a Sporting News report in Ernie Saxton's Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News, NASCAR'S top souvenir seller, Motorsports Authentics, is expected to report operating losses of $20 million to $25 million this year.The main reasons cited for the loss are the drop in sales for items from Earnhardt, who announced in mid-season that he was leaving his No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. If you attended a late-season race, you saw the reason for the losses. While the lines were still just as long at the No. 8 merchandise trailers, the price for your average t-shirt or hat ranged from $3-$8, rather than $15-$30.

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials believe Formula One will return to the track in the future. A curious notion since F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone made it pretty clear this summer he was disappointed in the way the race was promoted and was considering other cities, namely Las Vegas, for future U.S. Grand Prix events. Formula One will not race in the U.S. next season after an eight-year run at IMS.

Formula One's return would help IMS recover some of the investment it made to attract the series a decade ago, speedway President Joie Chitwood said, adding that some of the circuit's teams have indicated they'd be interested in returning to the U.S.“I think that Formula One will come back, I really do,” Chitwood said in an interview in New York. “There's nothing definitive but I think there has been some dialogue. It's coming up with the right plan so everybody can benefit from it.”The speedway spent two years renovating the track and facilities to accommodate the 2.605-mile (4.19-kilometer) road course.“We've made a lot of investment in the property,” Chitwood said. “We were disappointed when it went away. For us, the goal is to see if we can get them to come back at some point.”